AccScience Publishing / AJWEP / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/ajwep.6564
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Enhancing swimming pool hygiene: A robotic approach to debris removal and water quality monitoring

Hemalatha Senthilmahesh1* Kiran Mayee Adavala2 Thilagam Thangamariappan3 Pullela S. V. V. S. R. Kumar4 Ramesh Tumaati5 Muthuvairavan Pillai Nagappan6
Show Less
1 Department of Computer Science and Business Systems, Panimalar Engineering College, Poonamallee, Chennai, India
2 CSE (AI&ML), Kakatiya Institute of Technology and Science, Warangal, India
3 Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr. Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India
4 Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Aditya University, Surampalem, Andhra Pradesh, India
5 Department of Computer Science and Engineering, R.M.K. Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
6 Department of Computer Science and Business Systems, R.M.D. Engineering College, Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, India
Submitted: 26 November 2024 | Revised: 6 February 2025 | Accepted: 19 February 2025 | Published: 26 March 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

The World Health Organization has underscored swimming as a significant exercise for attaining health, and it is also recognized as a competitive sport in many nations. Individuals across all age groups choose swimming as a means to enhance their fitness levels. Maintaining the cleanliness of the swimming pool is imperative to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases. Despite regular weekly or monthly maintenance, cleanliness is often compromised due to service provider limitations. In the contemporary landscape, artificial intelligence technologies are progressively assuming roles where human providers fall short. This article proposes the integration of ethical robots to augment cleaning services both within and around swimming pools. These waterproof robots are designed to navigate within the pool environment, efficiently collecting debris and waste into their attached receptacles. The deployment of such ethical robotics marks a significant advancement in swimming pool maintenance, promising enhanced efficiency and hygiene standards. This work presents the design and implementation of an autonomous swimming pool cleaning robot, integrating multiple functional units: Power, sensor, wireless communication, motor, and water quality monitoring. After the power is on, the robot starts calibrating its sensors and establishes a connection with a remote human-machine interface to transmit the initial operational status. By utilizing advanced image processing algorithms, specifically color moments, the robot identifies and classifies floating debris while continuously monitoring water quality parameters. When debris is detected, the robot calculates its trajectory based on X and Y coordinates, adjusting its movement accordingly to collect the debris with a salvage net. It incorporates ultrasonic sensors for obstacle detection, employing a threshold-based avoidance algorithm to navigate around obstacles effectively. The cleaning process is repeated until the pool is cleared, after which the robot returns to its charging station, powering down non-essential systems in preparation for the next cycle. This study highlights the efficiency and effectiveness of robotic automation in pool maintenance, demonstrating significant advancements in the integration of robotics, sensor technology, and real-time data communication. The findings contribute valuable insights into future developments in robotic cleaning systems and their applications in various environments.

Keywords
Robotic pool cleaning
Autonomous maintenance
Obstacle handling
Battery optimization
Underwater visibility
Environmental factors
IoT integration
Real-time monitoring
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
All the authors declare they have no competing interests.
References
  1. American Heart Association. Benefits of Swimming; 2021. Available from: https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/swimming [Last accessed on 2025 Mar 04].

 

  1. Cox C, Fitzgerald A, Williams D. The impact of swimming on mental health: A systematic review. J Health Psychol. 2019;24(6):787-795. doi: 10.1177/1359105317718921

 

  1. Halliwell E, Grogan S. Swimming and mental well-being: A phenomenological study. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2017;31:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2017.03.001

 

  1. World Health Organization. Drowning; 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/ detail/drowning [Last accessed on 2025 Mar 04].

 

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthy Swimming: Pool-Related Illnesses and Injuries; 2022. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/ swimming/swimmers/rwi.html [Last accessed on 2025 Mar 04].

 

  1. Environmental Protection Agency. Swimming Pool Chemicals and Health Risks; 2019. Available from: https://www.epa.gov/chemical-research/swimming-pool-chemicals-and-health-risks [Last accessed on 2025 Mar 04].

 

  1. Mayo Clinic. Swimmer’s Ear: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment; 2021. Available from: https://www. mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/swimmers-ear/ symptoms-causes/syc-20351682 [Last accessed on 2025 Mar 04].

 

  1. American Society of Civil Engineers. Swimming Pool Functionality and Maintenance: Best Practices for Optimal Operation; 2021. Available from: https://www. asce.org/publications/swimming-pool-functionality [Last accessed on 2025 Mar 04].

 

  1. National Swimming Pool Foundation. Swimming Pool and Spa Operations: Addressing Common Challenges; 2018. Available from: https://www.nspf.org/resources/ swimming-pool-spa-operations [Last accessed on 2025 Mar 04].

 

  1. Lee J. The ultimate Guide to Swimming Pool Maintenance Robots: Benefits and How They Work; 2022. Available from: https://www.pooltechjournal. com/swimming-pool-maintenance-robots [Last accessed on 2024 Oct 12.

 

  1. Pool and Spa News. Evolution of Swimming Pool Robots: From Basic Suction to Intelligent Navigation; 2023. Available from: https://www.poolspanews.com/ technology/evolution-of-swimming-pool-robots [Last accessed on 2025 Mar 04].

 

  1. Topouzelis K, Papakonstantinou A, Garaba SP. Detection of floating plastics from satellite and unmanned aerial systems (Plastic Litter Project). Int J Appl Earth Obs Geoinf. 2019;79:175-183. doi: 10.1016/j.jag.2019.03.011

 

  1. Compa M, March D, Deudero S. Spatio-temporal monitoring of coastal floating marine debris in the Balearic Islands from sea-cleaning boats. Mar Pollut Bull. 2019;141:205-214. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.02.050

 

  1. Hasany SN, Zaidi SS, Sohail SA, Farhan M. An Autonomous Robotic System for Collecting Garbage Over Small Water Bodies. In: Proceedings of the 2021 6th International Conference on Automation, Control and Robotics Engineering (CACRE), Dalian, China; 2021. p. 81-86.

 

  1. Chang HC, Hsu YL, Hung SS, Ou GR, Wu JR, Hsu C. Autonomous water quality monitoring and water surface cleaning for unmanned surface vehicles. Sensors (Basel). 2021;21(4):1102. doi: 10.3390/s21041102

 

  1. Chen J, Du C, Zhang Y, Han P, Wei W. A clustering-based coverage path planning method for autonomous heterogeneous UAVs. IEEE Trans Intell Transp Syst. 2021;99:1-11. doi: 10.1109/TITS.2021.3066240

 

  1. Jeon CW, Kim HJ, Yun C, Han X, Kim JH. Design and validation testing of a complete paddy field-coverage path planner for a fully autonomous tillage tractor. Biosyst Eng. 2021;208:79-97. doi: 10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2021.05.005

 

  1. Li Y, Tian L, Li W, et al. Design and experiments of a water color remote sensing-oriented unmanned surface vehicle. Sensors (Basel). 2020;20(7):2183. doi: 10.3390/s20072183

 

  1. Ferri G, Manzi A, Fornai F, Ciuchi F, Laschi C. The HydroNet ASV, a small-sized autonomous catamaran for real-time monitoring of water quality: From design to missions at sea. IEEE J Ocean Eng. 2015;40(3):710-726. doi: 10.1109/JOE.2014.2362392

 

  1. Madeo D, Pozzebon A, Mocenni C, Bertoni D. A low-cost unmanned surface vehicle for pervasive water quality monitoring. IEEE Trans Instrum Meas. 2020;69(4):1433-1444. doi: 10.1109/TIM.2019.2963515

 

  1. Cao H, Guo Z, Wang S, Cheng H, Zhan C. Intelligent wide-area water quality monitoring and analysis system exploiting unmanned surface vehicles and ensemble learning. Water (Basel). 2020;12(3):681. doi: 10.3390/w12030681

 

  1. Kong H, Wang X, Li T. Smart Water Waste Scrubbing Robot System Using YOLOv3 for Trash Detection. In: IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering. United States: IEEE; 2022.

 

  1. Ruangpayoongsak N, Sumroengrit J, Leanglum M. A floating waste scooper robot on the water surface. In: Proceedings of the 2017 17th International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems (ICCAS), Jeju, Korea; 2017. p. 1543-1548. doi: 10.23919/ICCAS.2017.8206078.

 

  1. Cryer S, Carvalho F, Wood T, et al. Evaluating the sensor-equipped autonomous surface vehicle C-worker 4 as a tool for identifying coastal ocean acidification and changes in carbonate chemistry. J Mar Sci Eng. 2020;8(11):939. doi: 10.3390/jmse8110939.

 

  1. Gupta A, Sharma S. Smart water quality monitoring system: A survey. Int J Environ Sci Technol. 2022;19(6):4735-4746. doi: 10.1007/s13762-021-03495-x

 

  1. Lee J. The Ultimate Guide to Swimming Pool Maintenance Robots: Benefits and How they Work; 2022. Available from: https://www.pooltechjournal.com/ swimming-pool-maintenance-robots [Last accessed on 2025 Mar 04].

 

  1. Dzhafarov RM, Panchenko AA. Color moments for the recognition of color images. J Imaging. 2022;8(4):116. doi: 10.3390/jimaging8040116

 

  1. Sharma A, Choudhary R. Robotics and automation in water treatment and water quality management. J Clean Prod. 2021;308:127333. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127333

 

Share
Back to top
Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, Electronic ISSN: 1875-8568 Print ISSN: 0972-9860, Published by AccScience Publishing